


A Little Broken

by Tetisheri12



Category: Anthem (Video Game)
Genre: Angst, Betrayal, F/M, Fluff, Grief, Hurt/Comfort, alcohol use
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-03-07
Updated: 2019-03-13
Packaged: 2019-11-13 08:51:30
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 2
Words: 10,477
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18028646
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Tetisheri12/pseuds/Tetisheri12
Summary: I needed to hate Owen as Haluk did. Hate the two-faced bastard for betraying us. Hate him for joining the enemy. I needed to hate him so I would stop waking up thinking he was still beside me. I needed to hate him because somewhere along the way I fell in love.





	1. Birthday Sandwiches

**Author's Note:**

> I played Anthem, and became immediately obsessed with Owen. This is a meandering piece following both the present and past relationship of my favorite cypher and my freelancer. 
> 
> Edit: I forgot to tag that this is a multi-chapter fiction. That has been fixed.

_Present Day_

I barely felt the jolt as my javelin docked into its station on the forge. I instructed my suit to open up, so I could wearily pull myself out of it. My skin was slick with sweat. It had been a particularly hot day in the Bastion, and I’d been flying all over the place helping out Sentinel Brin with her patrols. 

The thought of the socially awkward woman drew a brief smile on my face. She certainly had taken quite a while to warm up to me. I couldn’t blame her though, us Freelancers just didn’t carry the same clout we did three years ago. It didn’t help that I was known for being part of the mission that brought down the Lancers reign of heroism. 

I ran a hand through my short-cropped hair with a sigh. It wouldn’t benefit me to think about that day, only make it harder for me to control my javelin. I needed a drink. “Whoo-ee…you really did a number on him this time…” Zoe whistled impressively as she began the initial inspection of my suit. 

“Ya, sorry Zoe. I landed in the middle of a Scar nest.” I pulled at my shirt, grimacing as it clung wetly to my skin. I should shower before I go to the bar. Max is liable to ban me if I show up this filthy. 

“It’s nothing I can’t fix in a jiff.” Zoe smiled warmly at me before turning away. Knowing her, she’d have it in tip top shape before tomorrow morning. I’d have to pay her back somehow. 

“See ya ‘round Zoe.” I called at her back as I made my way off of the platform. The sun was just about to set, so the market was a bustling hub of activity. It’d gotten livelier around Fort Tarsis in the past few months. 

I nodded my head in greeting to the people I recognized as I passed, but I didn’t stop to chat. I just wanted to shower and head to the bar. I left behind the chatter of people in the market to the soft murmur of voices in the Enclave. Unless someone was actively working on their javelin, this place was usually pretty quiet during this time of day. 

My chest squeezed uncomfortably when I looked at the amplifiers in the back of the room. I barely managed a smile at Faye before I turned quickly on my heel and headed out the side door of the Enclave. Shower then a drink. Maybe I could convince Amar to give me one on the house. 

My home was a small studio apartment. My kitchen, if you could call a lone stove and a fridge a kitchen, was to the left of the door. My bedroom which consisted of a full-sized bed and dresser were pushed to the right wall. In the middle was the tiny table and two chairs where I ate, and on the far wall was the door to the equally small bathroom. The apartment was against the perimeter wall, so the rent was dirt cheat. It was the only reason Owen and I could afford it in the first place. The knot in my chest tightened at the thought of him. 

I pulled my shirt off and threw it in the ever-growing laundry pile. I was going to run out of clean clothes in a few days if I didn’t wash my dirty clothes. Owen always took care of the laundry. I was sure he didn’t wash the clothing himself, but I didn’t know who to ask or where to go. 

I plopped heavily into the chair by the table, the metal legs groaned a bit under the sudden weight. I went to work on unlacing my boots. Although Owen had gone away – betrayed me – I was surrounded by his things. There were books strewn across the kitchen table, some still open to the page he was reading last. They were all Javelin piloting books. Studying to become a pilot was one of the only things he was ever serious about. 

A few nick nacks he’d picked up along our travels were set neatly on top of the dresser. Most of them were stolen. There was an antique pocket watch he’d swiped from some royal when we’d passed through Heliost. The man had insisted we _filthy commoners_ vacant the street he was walking on, because the sight of us offended him. Owen had started spinning a tale of our harrowing journey from the west. Owen moved quite a bit when he talked. He’d gotten close enough to pick-pocket the asshole before we were shooed away by his guards. I took off my arm bands. 

Another was a piece of armor I had taken off of an Scar Scout. That was from the first mission Owen had acted as my cypher. He had asked me to keep it as a souvenir so we could ‘Sell it for thousands when we became legends’. I stood from the chair. I rid myself of my pants and underwear before walking to the bathroom. 

There was a fifty/fifty chance that there would be hot water when I turned on the shower. Perhaps the hot day had warmed up the water tanks. The bathroom was small, with the shower in one corner and the toilet and sink in the other. You barely had enough room to turn around in it, yet Owen and I had…my stomach cramped at the memory. 

I stepped into the shower. I turned it on a moment later. Blissfully warm water shot from the shower head. I sighed in relief while I ran my hands through my now wet hair. My eyes closed as I enjoyed the warm water. It’d been forever since the water had been warm. 

_“Bev you need to get in here!” Owen’s raised voice had me vaulting out of the bed and into the bathroom within moments._

_“What is it? Did a baby Skorpian crawl through the drain!?” That was one of the warnings our landlord had told us about when we first moved in. I pulled the curtain away from the shower to see Owen’s mischievous grin._

_“Why are you dressed?” his brow pinched as he took in my clothed state._

_“You’re the one that yelled for me to come in here.” I reasoned. Owen rolled his eyes._

_“Get undressed, the water’s hot.” My eyes widened at his words. “You see now, c’mon before it goes away.” I stripped out of my clothes quickly and stepped into the small shower stall._

_“Oh man…” I moaned as the hot water ran down my shoulders. I tiled my head into the stream of water. This felt amazing. We almost never had warm water, let alone hot water. Owen and I were too poor to afford a water heater. We were at the mercy of the water tanks. Warm arms slid around my waist._

_“Come now…don’t hog it all, love.” Owen murmured against my ear while he pressed himself against my back. I relaxed in his embrace, leaning my head back against his shoulder._

_“You invited me in here…” I turned my head to press a kiss on his cheek. He hummed in approval._

The memory faded away as quickly as it had come. I pressed my hand firmly against my mouth to stifle the sob. My chest heaved as I lost the battle against my tears. I fell into a crouch in the shower. I wrapped my arms around my legs and pressed my face into my knees. 

Weakness was not a luxury afforded to us Lancers. I had to stow my shit before I left my apartment. If I became distracted out in the field, I’d die. It was as simple as that. I had to stop feeling like this…this confliction in my chest. 

I needed to hate Owen as Haluk did. Hate the two-faced bastard for betraying us. For taking away the armor we could have used to silence the Heart of Rage. For joining the other side in the process. Damn his reasoning about his talents being neglected.

Did he think I’d always been a pilot? That I’d been given my javelin after a year of training and a lot of beggin? I practically spent my whole damn childhood learning how to pilot a javelin. It took me nearly a decade before I was allowed to do a mission in my Javelin unsupervised. You couldn’t become a pilot overnight, and that was with a non-cypher. Only a scant few people could be both pilot and cypher. 

He betrayed me for his own selfish ambitions. I could probably forgive him taking the Legion of Dawn armor, but joining the Dominion? The people who had killed thousands of innocents just so they could get close to the Anthem? I needed to hate Owen. 

I can still feel the ghost of his touch on my skin. For just a moment after I first wake up, I can feel him lying beside me. His presence warm and reassuring. Owen was the only constant in my life for the last two years. He was my only friend. The only one who didn’t pry about The Heart of Rage. Our relationship was easy. It was a natural evolution from friend to lover. Not that Owen and I were in a relationship really. Neither of us were fans of talking about our emotions. We simply lived together and had sex with one another exclusively. It was simple. 

Everyone advised against entering in a relationship with your cypher. They all said it would destabilize the connection between the team. That if a cypher was too worried about keeping you alive, then they wouldn’t be paying attention to the others in the team. 

It was around the time Owen and I started sleeping together that I stopped taking jobs with other Lancers. I wouldn’t endanger the lives of my fellow Lancers just so I could have a fun romp in the sheets. We worked wonderfully as a two man team.

Tassyn had asked me why I chose Owen. I didn’t react too kindly to her questioning, I’d even yelled at her. I didn’t want to tell her that I chose Owen because we simply clicked with one another. Owen and I had an instant connection from the moment we first met all those years ago in Ponteix. When I met Owen after the Heart of Rage fiasco, he was the only cypher I was able to connect with beside Faye. The others couldn’t get a grasp on me. My mind was too erratic, too unstable. 

The trauma from the cataclysm should have grounded me, but Owen had managed to help me through it. We didn’t out right talk about my issues, but he chattered away like he always did. Talked me into distraction. Kept my mind on the mission ahead instead of in the past. Owen helped keep me from breaking. 

I turned the now cold water off without looking at the handle. I stayed curled on my bathroom floor for only a moment longer before I stood up. I towel dried myself quickly. I had work to do still. I believe Haluk was nearly done with the seals for the shield. If everything worked, I could be heading into the Heart of Rage in a few days’ time. I left the bathroom so I could get dressed. 

Owen’s attempt through the Heart of Rage with the Dominion had failed, but I wouldn’t put it past the Monitor to try again. The Dominion wanted the Cenotaph. I’d stop them no matter who stood in my way. I pretended not to notice the twisting in my gut at the thought. 

The bar was sparsely lit though heavily decorated. Every new owner of the bar added a little something before they died. The curse of the bar was to name it. So with Max, a Regulator boss, running the show, no one dared name the bar. I ignored the illegal activities going down in the dark shadows of the bar. I wasn’t a Sentinel, what did I care what people did inside Fort Tarsis? 

“Hey Freelancer!” Amal greeted me warmly when I sat down at the bar. His brown hair looked a little more disheveled then normal. 

“Good evening Amal.” I smiled at him in return. He was a nice guy, a little weird, but weren’t we all? 

“Hey, so,” he leaned in close to me. “Do you remember that package I asked you about with my neighbor?” His voice grew low in that false whisper he always used. 

“Ya, how’d that go? Was she grateful?” I’m not sure why Amar thought I would give good dating advise, but almost exclusively talked to me about his lady troubles. 

“Welll…” His voice trailed, “I took the package into my apartment right? No problem. Then this real big dude shows up and pulls a knife one me!” He squeaked a bit. “Anyway he demands that I let him in to look for the package. I was sitting there all calm on my bed while he tore my place apart until he tore of the blanket my mama made me!” Amal always talked like he was on a radio show, completely over dramatic. “So I get up and rush him. He tries to _stab_ me, but I drop my shoulder and shove him. We fall down _hard_.” His eyes widen a bit. “So I get up and start to tell him where the package is when I noticed that this guy isn’t moving…” The color washed out of his face. “And his neck is at a really _weird_ angle. I realize he’s dead!” I blinked, I did not expect the story to go that route. “So now I have a package I don’t want and a dead guy in my apartment and I don’t know what to do.” He looks at me expectantly making me realize that Amal hadn’t even gone to the Sentinels yet. 

“You should go to the authorities.” I state in slight amazement that someone could be this dense.

“That’s a really good idea…perhaps I should do that.” 

“No, go now. Like right now,” The longer he waited to alert the Sentinel’s the worse it would look on him. 

“Okay. I’ll let Max know. Thanks Lancer!” He placed a glass in front of me before pouring in some alcohol. He left the pitcher in front of me. Amal left to find Max. 

“God damn…” I grumbled as I shot back the liquid. It burned its way down my throat. How was it that I always got dragged into these situations? Amal’s girl issues, Nadira and Leyton’s surprisingly strong marriage that started as a sham, and Saryna’s obsession with dangerous animals as pets. The last one _bit_ a kid’s fingers off. 

Owen would have gotten a kick out of that last one. Owen… I poured myself another cup. He was probably flying around, doing evil Dominion stuff, happy as a grabbit’s asshole. While I sat here, alone at the bar. Waiting for word from Haluk about the seals on the Dawn Shield. Waiting to go on the most dangerous mission of my life without my best friend. 

I’d have helped the idiot become a pilot. I just couldn’t have him be a pilot for _this_ mission. I watched countless of my friend’s parish during our first attempt to silence the cenotaph. I couldn’t bear to see him die too. But no, I was neglecting his _unique talents_. He nearly got himself killed outside of Princess Zhim’s. How could he not see that I was worried about him? 

I knew he was feeling left out by Faye and Haluk. Didn’t like that she took point as cypher on our missions instead of him. They weren’t the nicest people to get to know, but Haluk had practically raised me. He trained me to be the pilot I was today. Maybe I should have had his back more…told Haluk to stop yelling at him. 

It didn’t excuse his betrayal. If something wasn’t working you talked about it, you didn’t sabotage an amplifier, freeze your…your pilot’s suit, and join the enemy. He chose the _Dominion_ over me. I downed the second glass before pouring a third. I started drinking. 

“How long were you and Owen in a relationship?” Faye’s sudden appearance made me choke on my drink. I coughed and hacked glancing at the other woman with raised eyebrows. 

“What?” I croaked out, trying to regain control of my lungs. Owen and I were very careful about not showing physical intimacy in front of other people. We didn’t need people to nag at how dangerous sleeping together could get. 

“I spend a decent amount of time inside your mind Bev, not to mention I’ve connected with Owen before his betrayal.” I felt my cheeks heat at her words. Of course, she would know. Faye was nearly all knowing. She was a fantastic cypher. “So, how long?” 

“A little over a year.” Faye’s expression turned from curious to surprise at my answer. “It doesn’t matter anyways, not like it was anything serious.” The words felt foreign on my tongue. As if a part of me knew I was full of shit. 

“A year is a long time in the life of a Lancer.” Faye reasoned. Her eyes were filled with sympathy. I poured myself another glass. I took a drink. The liquid no longer burning my throat, but warming its way down into my stomach. The sharp clarity of the bar started to fuzz around the edges as the alcohol began to work its way through my system. In a few minutes I’d probably be well and truly drunk.

“Ya, I suppose.” I didn’t want to talk to Faye about Owen. I knew what she was implying and I didn’t want to admit it. Not to her or anyone else for that matter. I went to take another drink, but stopped. “You aren’t going to lecture me about the dangers of pilot cypher relationships?” The older woman smiled indulgently at me. 

“No, because it’s suddenly clear why you’ve been soloing missions.” Her tone was soft and understanding. It reminded me of when I was still learning how to be a pilot. 

“I’m pretty impressive on my own.” I flashed her a cocky grin making the other woman shake her head. 

“You don’t _have_ to be on your own.” 

“That’s what I have you and Haluk for.” Faye’s shoulders slumped at my words making me wonder, not for the first time, how long it’s been since Haluk has piloted his javelin. 

His limp was far more pronounced than it had been two years ago. During the Princess Zhim fiasco, I’d been surprised that Haluk had sent Owen out to defend the strider instead of himself. A sound body and mind was key to the connection between pilot and javelin suit. If the physical body had a failing, than it would translate into a mental failing of said limb and vice-versa. Haluk’s leg may be preventing him from piloting his javelin properly. It would certainly explain his extra surliness. 

“Bev?” Faye’s question brought me out of my musings. 

“hm?” Her face was a lot blurrier than it had been a few moments ago though the lights in the bar were burning brighter than ever. 

“When did you meet Owen?” She wanted to know when we met? 

“Oh that…it was in Ponteix about ten years ago. You remember? We’d stopped there to resupply the strider before making the trip to Freemark? I was in the market…

_Ten Years Earlier_

Ponteix was a small town filled to the brim with people. At least the marketplace was busy. Luckily, I was still smaller than the adults, so I could easily slip in between the bustling crowd. Our strider had stopped here early in the morning to resupply. We were making the long trek to Freemark. Ruby wanted me to see one of the major cities in the Bastion. She said it was imperative to my teaching that I see the wall of Freemark. 

We’d joined a group of Freelancers. One of them was Haluk, the legendary Colossus pilot. He revolutionized how pilots used the Colossus in battle. I couldn’t wait to learn more about piloting javelins from him. But that would come later, today was about me. 

I turned fourteen today. 

Ruby had given me a pouch of chips to spend on myself. She said it was a birthday gift, but I think she wanted me to get out of her hair for the day. She was a great teacher, but got pretty fed up with me at times. I did tend to try and talk her ear off about piloting. I wanted to be a pilot as soon as possible. 

I wasn’t too sure what I wanted to buy. I could get food, but I’d still be hungry later. I could buy clothes, but there wasn’t a lot of room in the strider to begin with. I could find a stall that sold javelin stuff, but there was still the issue of space. Not to mention I didn’t even own a javelin. Man, there were way too many choices. There was always the option to not spend the money at all…Nah I wanted to get something. It was my birthday after all. 

It wasn’t often that I got a present on my birthday, no matter what mood the gift was given in. My father was barely able to keep a roof over our heads when I was a kid, let alone buy me presents. Now that he was gone, I’d never get a present from him at all. I physically shook the depressing thoughts out of my mind. I was determined to have a good day. Now what should I-

A boy crashed into my shoulder derailing my train of thought. “Sorry miss.” The boy muttered before quickly continuing on his way. I scowled rubbing at my shoulder. I should pay more attention to my surroundings. Had that boy been an adult I’d have been fallen on my ass. I shook my head checking my pockets for the pouch of money. Growing up poor made you really paranoid. 

My pants pocket was devoid of my pouch of chips. My eyes widened and I whipped around. I saw the boy’s form weaving in and out of the crowd. “Hey!” I shouted, loud enough that several people around me turned to stare. The boy looked back at me before his eyes widened and he shot off into a sprint. “Hey come back!” 

I immediately ran after him. That was my money damn it, and I wasn’t going to let some asshole kid take it from me. I kept my physical training in mind while I dodged the oncoming foot traffic. The boy was wearing a dark gray shirt and pants, which stood out in the brightly dressed people around him. “Stop!” I shouted again steadily gaining on his retreating form. He glanced back before ducking into a side alley. “Shit!” I all but snarled and picked up my pace. I could lose him in the alleyway. 

I made it to the mouth of the alley just a few moments later. It was just in time to see his shoe disappear around another corner. I grinned, there was no way I was losing this kid. Around the corner I saw the kid trying to climb the fence at the other end of the alley. His feet kept slipping on the metal of slats, there were no horizontal footholds to hold his foot up. Unless he could pull himself up with his arms alone, he wasn’t climbing that fence. “You’re trapped.” I said with heavy breaths. Cardio was definitely not my forte. 

The kid dropped from the fence and spun around. His eyes were wide with fear hands coming up in front of his defensively. I was surprised to see that he wasn’t a kid at all, but a teenager. He was just thinner than most teenage boys I knew. I took a step towards him. “I was just testing your reflexes! Ha ha you caught me!?” He chuckled nervously.

“What?” I asked, thrown off guard by the hurried words. 

“I was testing…your reflexes.” He smiled hopefully at me. He was testing my reflexes? Who in a Cataclysm would believe that? I eyed the boy apprehensively. 

He had choppy brown hair, as if he’d cut it himself, that stuck out in all directions. His eyes were an interesting shade of blue, but that could have been because he had light brown skin. He had a prominent nose and full lips despite the hollowness in his cheeks. His clothes hung on him a bit limply, despite having that gangly length a boy got when he had a growth spurt. 

He looked like someone who hadn’t had a decent meal in weeks. 

“You probably would have gotten away with it if I wasn’t so paranoid.” I held my hand out for my pouch of money. 

“Really?” he asked honestly while he dug in his pocket for the pouch. I nodded as he placed the money in my hand. I shoved it back into my pocket. 

“Definitely, I didn’t feel your hand in my pocket at all. Next time pick your mark better.” I couldn’t pickpocket to save my life, despite multiple people trying to teach me. I just didn’t have the finesse that was required. 

“Right a better mark.” I heard the gurgle of a hungry stomach. I pretended not to notice it. 

“See ya ‘round.” I turned on my heel and started heading out of the alley. A hungry teenage boy was not my problem. Especially not a boy who just tried to rob me of my birthday money, because he was hungry. He probably hasn’t eaten in a while. I closed my eyes with a sigh, and looked backwards. To his credit as a teenage boy, I didn’t catch him looking at my butt. He was looking rather worriedly at the ground. “Hey thief!” I called back to him. 

“Me?” He looked up at me with confusion. 

“Listen I was thinking about getting one of those big sandwiches that Ponteix is known for. I couldn’t possibly finish it by myself, wanna join me?” 

“You’re serious? Not just yanking my chain?” I rolled my eyes. 

“I wouldn’t offer if I wasn’t serious. You coming or not?” I started walking back out of the alleyway. I heard the scramble of feet before I felt him next to me. “The names Owen by the way, not thief.” He pointed out. 

“I’m Bev.” I was a little surprised to see that the boy – Owen – was taller than me. 

“Short for a beverage?” Owen asked without pause. We merged easily back into the traffic in the market. I saw the sandwich place a few yards back. 

“What? No it’s short for a Bev-Beverly.” I felt my cheeks grow hot under my mishap. 

“Are there many of these Beverly creatures you speak of?” Owen asked cheekily. “I’ve honestly never heard of them.” I couldn’t contain the giggle that escaped me. “This could be a major discovery. We should alert the Arcanists.” He spoke so seriously that it made my giggle turn into full blown laughter. “They’ll definitely want to here about this.” 

“Stop…I’m dying…” I wheezed out between fits of laughter. Owen grinned at me. 

We neared the sandwich stall a few moments later. The man behind the table looked a bit wearily at Owen, but didn’t comment. “What do you like on your sandwich?” I asked Owen. 

“Whatever you want is fine though I do have a hankering for wheat bread.” 

“Can I get a foot-long meat and cheese sandwich on wheat?” 

“That’ll be forty chips.” The man’s tone was a bit haughty. He probably thought Owen and I couldn’t pay for the sandwich. I got the pouch out of my pocket and counted out the chips. 

“Here ya go.” I set the coins on the counter despite the man’s hand being held out. Want to act like an ass? You get treated like an ass. He scowled but scooped up the money and pocketed it. 

It wasn’t long before Owen and I each had half of the sandwich and found a semi secluded spot to eat them. It was rather difficult to eat when you had to elbow people out of the way. “What brings you to Ponteix?” Owen asked in between controlled bites of his sandwich. 

I swallowed my food before answering. “I’m headed to Freemark with my instructor.” 

“An instructor of what?” 

“She’s my javelin instructor. I’m going to be a Freelancer.” I stated proudly. Freelancers were the absolute best. They protected people in places where the Sentinels wouldn’t dare go. Freelancers silenced Cataclysms. 

“Whoa really!? That’s super cool!” Owen said excitedly. “Have you gotten to fly a javelin yet? What’s your favorite javelin?” I grinned happy to have found someone as enthusiastic about Freelancers as I was. 

“No, I’m years away from being able to pilot my own javelin. I think I might want to be a Ranger.” I loved the artillery of a Ranger, being able to target a bunch of enemies in one go was so awesome. 

“The Ranger? Eh, I like the Interceptors better. They’re able to move so fast and be right in the thick of battle.” 

“Sure, they have speed, but as a Ranger I can still see the whole playing field. I’m not limited to what’s immediately in front of me.” I took another bite of my sandwich. 

“The Ranger model doesn’t have anything special other than the long-range artillery.” I felt myself bristling at his words. 

“What are you talking about? You can install loads of different artillery, even poison darts. Just because the Rangers melee has a recharge, doesn’t mean its not special.” Quite a few of my fellow classmates believed the Ranger wasn’t as talented a model as the other javelins. Maybe that was why I wanted to be a Ranger. 

“But the Ranger has no crowd control.” Owen pointed out. 

“That’s not completely-” a hand came up from behind me and plucked my sandwich out of my hand. “What the fuck!” a man with a scruffy beard walked into my line of sight. My sandwich in his hand. “Give that back!”

He sneered down at me. “There’s a brat tax in these parts.” I scowled and went to grab the sandwich from him. “Ah ah ah…I don’t think so kid.” He deliberately took a large bite out of my sandwich. “Stupid brats…” he grumbled and started walking away. 

I stood there, fists clenched in anger as I watched the man retreat. “You can have the rest of mine if you want.” Owen offered quietly. 

“No, that’s okay. C’mon.” I started walking in the direction the man went. 

“Where are we going?” Owen asked after a few moments of silence. 

“We’re following him. You saw his clothing, right?” The black clothes and red lapel were a dead giveaway. That man was a regulator. I ducked behind a wall pulling Owen with me when the men scanned his surroundings. 

“He’s wearing Regulator clothing. Why are we following him?” 

“Nobody steals my sandwich and gets away with it.” I heard Owen’s choking laughter by my side, but didn’t bother to glare at him. “He’s on the move again, let’s go.” I motioned for him to follow. That was my birthday sandwich. That man had no right to take it from me. I’d make him pay.


	2. Mr. Asshole

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you all for the wonderful comments and kudos! I appreciate every single one of them. 
> 
> I took a little liberty with the javelin suit designs in regards to guns and ammo placement. It didn't make sense to me that the guns were simply hanging off this futuristic suit, especially the larger guns like the sniper rifle. It sits right between the two thrusters on the back of a ranger. That amount of heat output would totally warp the metal of a gun. So I described a design like the one they used in Mass Effect where the guns are more integrated into the suit. 
> 
> Let me know what you think of the chapter. Have a good day everyone.

_Present Day_

“He tried to pick your pocket” I nodded, “and then you bought him a sandwich?” Faye asked incredulously. 

“Yep,” I eyed the gleaming pitcher in front of me. It swam blurrily in my vision. I leaned heavily against the bar top as I went to grab the pitcher. My fingers bumped clumsily against it making it fall over. “Fuck.” I growled. 

“I think you may be done.” Faye’s hand rested lightly on my shoulder. I looked over at the other woman. Her face swam in my vision.

“Should I be?” I narrowed my eyes at her, trying to focus on Faye. “Hmm…I guess I should.” I planted my palms on the bar top and slid off the stool. The ground underneath me tilted dangerously to the side. 

“Whoa there,” Hands gripped me under my arms, keeping me from falling down. 

“Oh…thanks.” I giggled leaning heavily into the person. I’m pretty sure it was Faye. 

“Come on Bev, let’s get you home.” Faye spoke quietly as she began helping me walk. 

“Put it on your tab?” Max, the bar’s current owner, called after us. I rose my hand in the affirmative. 

“You have a tab? How often do you drink?” Sleep sounded quite amazing at the moment. I would hopefully not have any dreams tonight. Drinking usually took them away. 

“Meh, don’ worry I’ll be righ’ as rain tomorrow,” I hiccupped. 

“Which way to your apartment Bev?” A weight settled in my chest at the thought of going home. Could that apartment be considered a home? A few months ago, I wouldn’t have hesitated to call the small place a home. Then again, a few months ago I didn’t have to go home alone. Owen would be there or we’d be heading back together. 

I was never alone after Owen became my cypher. My stomach rolled uneasily. “Along the west perimeter wall…” I murmured leaning heavily on Faye. 

My memory fuzzes out a bit like it always did when I drank too much. It was exhausting keeping up the eternal positivity that I put out into the world. People needed to think that Freelancers had no troubles past our mission objectives. People needed to think we were infallible, incapable of having dark and twisted feelings. 

They couldn’t know that sometimes I just didn’t want to get in my suit. I wanted to step back and let someone else take care of the problem. I wanted to wallow in my misery. I wanted to be able to get drunk every day like the baker.

I wasn’t afforded the luxury. 

“Faye…” I spoke quietly in the darkness of my apartment. 

“Yes?” Her voice was calm. 

“Was I played for a fool?” It had been a question that had been burning in the back of my mind for weeks. Had Owen always planned on betraying me? Was it his intention all along to get close to me, so I wouldn’t suspect him of foul play? Did every touch, every murmured word, and every touch mean nothing? 

“None of us suspected him.” Faye sounded troubled by the information. “I just don’t know…” 

“Oh…” I turned my head into my pillow as sleep dragged heavily on my consciousness. “Okay…” 

“Rest well Bev.”

I woke up the next morning with a splitting headache. My eyes throbbed behind my eyelids even before I opened them. I groaned loudly before throwing my arm over my eyes. I laid there for a few moments allowing my stomach to get used to the idea of moving. 

I needed to check in with Faye and Haluk today about the Dawn Shield. If the seals for the shield weren’t complete then I’d check the contract board. Unless Yarrow himself posted on the board, I highly doubt there’d be any jobs. Maybe Sentinel Brin had another job she needed me to handle. The Sentinel’s under her command were having issues dealing with the ever-growing Scar problem. 

The Matthias trio may have a job for me, but they’d been trying to deal with suddenly being three people. I doubt they were worried about their Arcanist duties. Though Erryl was still rather studious, it definitely wouldn’t hurt to ask them. 

I swung my legs off the edge of the bed before sliding off. My eyes narrowed into slits as I hobbled my way towards the fridge. I knew I had some leftover food from the other day. It should still be good. I opened the door and immediately felt the lack of cold coming from the appliance. I touched the water on the shelf, it felt warm to the touch. “Shit!” I slammed the door shut. 

I knew I’d paid the bill this month. That meant the fridge had finally kicked the bucket. Fuck, I didn’t have the budget to replace the damn thing. “Fucking Grabbits assholes.” I muttered to myself while I moved over to the cupboard. The cupboard was empty. We haven’t had-my hand spasmed on wooden door- I haven’t had any bread in the apartment for weeks. 

There was a grain shortage in Fort Tarsis. Mora’s indoor farming wouldn’t yield any grain for months to come. I shut the cupboard and walked over to the dresser. The top two drawers held my clothing, while the bottom two were Owens. I thought about throwing away all his clothing the night I came home from the Legion of Dawn Fortress. I got as far as to pull them out of the drawers before the tears came. The next morning, I put them back. 

I dressed in my last clean shirt and pants. I seriously needed to find out where to do the laundry. Or I could dip into the budget and buy new clothing. I was only supporting myself now. I could afford a small luxury. Perhaps I’d order new clothing along-side my breakfast. 

Within the hour I had eaten a hardy meal of Wyvern scrambled eggs and Korox steak, bless the Lancer who had to steal the eggs from a Wvyvern’s nest, and ordered a dozen new shirts, pants, and underwear. It may be lazy to buy new clothes instead of finding out where to get my laundry washed, but I had more important things to do. 

I needed to check in with Haluk to see how the Dawn Shield was coming along. He was as brilliant of a javelin engineer as he was a pilot. Working on the strider was a whole other beast. Faye usually got the old machine running when Haluk couldn’t. 

The Enclave was abuzz with the din of voices and power tools. I waved to Lucky Jak by the job table. I’ve noticed that he’d been running the table more often than not, which meant people were putting in jobs for us Freelancers. He’d evaluate the job and categorize it before posting it to the job board. His job was crucial in keeping rookie Lancers from taking on a mission that was far above their experience level to handle. 

I continued further into the Enclave where Haluk had set up shop. I was pleasantly surprised when I saw the cover on Haluk’s javelin had been removed. Faye was standing beside the javelin as Haluk attempted to move it. The arms shook a bit but didn’t do anything else. “Gateway’s not connecting. Check the connection to the crown.” 

“Everything is clear.” Faye glanced at the back of Haluk’s suit, sounding a bit exasperated. 

“There gotta be a glitch in the core.” Haluk insisted continuously trying to move his javelin. A pit of worry formed in my stomach at the sight. I’ve seen this happen in other pilots…

“It looks fine.” 

“No no no, you have to hit it a couple of times.” 

“You think I can literally smack sense into it?” Faye demanded, clearly annoyed with Haluk’s suggestion. How many times have they done this? 

“Trust me.” Haluk looked over at me, a smile growing on his face. “It’s an old Freelancer technique.” He wasn’t wrong. There were quite a few times that simply smacking my javelin had caused the malfunctioning piece to work correctly. 

“Haluk…” Faye cautioned. 

“I can do it.” I stepped forward to slam my fist into one of the javelin’s knees. Haluk grunted, one of his legs lifting momentarily before setting back down. The arms stayed in their clenched position, “How’s the connection?” I asked easily hiding the worry from my voice. 

Haluk strained to move his javelin, the entire frame shivering from the effort his mind was using. “Nothing, Damnit!” the Colossus suddenly fell into its resting position as Haluk left the suit. Haluk jumped down, hissing when he landed on his bad leg. I’m betting that was the cause of his issues. Pilots needed to be in tip-top shape to be able to pilot their javelins properly. “Nothing, I can’t run it.” he sighed in frustration, sitting on the platform. 

“Look at the crown again. Something has to be busted.” I didn’t want to tell him that it may be a failing on his part, not his javelin. Haluk was barely talking to me again there was no way I was going to risk his ire again. 

“I’ve been over it a thousand times. It’s like it does it to spite me!” he whacked his javelin with his cane. 

“Haluk…” Faye started softly, “maybe it’s not the javelin.” My eyes widened at her words. Was she really going to go there? 

“The damn thing is putting the whole plan in danger.” Haluk completely ignored her words and stood to go to his tool box. “We’ll have to delay the mission until I can get it working.” 

“Haluk.” Faye tried to get his attention. 

“There are other Lancers we can hire, don’t worry.” I tried to reassure him. 

Haluk gave me a heavy look. “How many Freelancers went into the storm with us?” There were dozens of teams back then. Only a handful of us made it out alive. “You need everyone you can get backing you up in there.” He grabbed his toolbox and started moving towards his javelin. 

“Haluk!” Faye yelled this time, but he still refused to acknowledge her. 

“If I can’t get this thing to work, I’ll just turn it into an expensive paperweight.” Haluk grinned humorlessly at me. 

“Ugh…” Faye shook her head and stormed away. I hurried after her, grabbing her shoulder to keep her from leaving completely. 

“How long has he been doing this?” Faye was a very patient woman. It took a lot to push her buttons, and from what I just witnessed…Haluk had been pushing her buttons quite a bit. 

“Used to be daily, then monthly. It’s been half a year since his last try.” 

“It’s not his javelin then…”

“No! Sometimes he can almost control it. Sometimes…nothing at all. It’s been a hard wait.” A hard wait? What could she mean by that? 

“What do you mean?” I asked letting go of her shoulder. 

“Twenty-three.” I frowned at her, not understanding what she meant. “Twenty-three people were killed in that last run through the Heart of Rage. Twenty lancers and three cyphers left catatonic by the Anthem.” I felt my shoulders slump a bit at her words. “No one wanted to go back after that.” I could see her struggle not to stare at me pointedly. “Not that I blame them. Only me and Haluk.” She scoffed with a roll of her eyes. “He used to be the best. You remember. You were there! I remember. Every single thing we lost.” Her breath caught before she leaned in close to me. “I hear it, The Anthem, for just one moment I heard it and understood everything.” She shook her head. “Now every moment of every day since, I’ve heard…whispers calling me back. Pulling at me like an unraveling thread.” 

“Faye…” I always thought that maybe the Anthem hadn’t affected Faye as it had the other cyphers. I thought she was somehow stronger than the rest of them. I guess she’s just better at hiding it then them.

She moved out of my reach while putting her hands up to keep me away. “I’m glad you’re here.” With that said she walked away from me. 

I took a deep breath and turned around to go back to Haluk. He was tinkering with his javelin. “You could always let Zoe take a look. She’s an excellent engineer.” Haluk threw me what I could only describe as a patronizing look. 

“No one touches my javelin but me.” 

“Alright, alright,” I raised my hands in surrender. “It was just a suggestion.” I bent down on my haunches beside him. “Maybe it’s the link, when’s the last time you replaced it?” I wouldn’t be the one to shatter his delusion. 

“Eh, a few months ago.” Haluk tightened a bolt on the leg of his suit. “Listen, I don’t need you hanging around while I do this. Go find something to do. We’re grounded until I can get this damn thing to work.” 

I pursed my lips, debating on arguing with him about dismissing me. I stood with a sigh, “Okay.” Faye wasn’t by the amplifiers when I passed, so I kept walking out of the Enclave. Things certainly have changed from two years ago. 

It wasn’t until I was about halfway to the Forge to check on Zoe’s repairs of my javelin that Faye’s words from earlier sank in. The Anthem still whispered to her, despite only having heard it for a few seconds. Three cyphers were left catatonic, unable to ever sever the link between themselves and the Anthem. 

Owen’s attempt to go into the Heart of Rage with the Dominion had failed. Tassyn said that the shield had stopped working, but she didn’t know the specifics. Could Owen have heard the Anthem and became overwhelmed? She said he wasn’t dead but…catatonic wasn’t dead. Would Tassyn keep information about Owen from me? If she thought it would jeopardize the mission, I wouldn’t put it past her. Could Owen already be gone? Unreachable to me forever?

My eyes burned with tears at the possibility. I kept my chin high and a small smile on my face as I passed through the small market. People needed to look at Freelancers for strength, a crying lancer didn’t promote strength. Zoe was working on a Sentinel armor when I approached the Forge. “Hey Zoe,” I greeted her, hoping she wouldn’t pick up on the hoarseness in my voice. 

“Shit!” Zoe jumped at my sudden appearance, pinching her hand in the javelin. “Damnit Bev, we need to put a bell on ya or something,” I snorted at the sudden visual. 

“Probably wouldn’t fit too well in my suit.” I pointed out as she stood from her stool. 

“I can make it fit.” She grumbled wiping her hands on a rag. “Well, anyway I fixed him right up. He’s in tip-top shape.” She gestured towards my Javelin on the other side of the platform. The black and red armor a stark contrast to the soft blue and white of the Sentinel suits around it. 

“Thank you, Zoe. I really appreciate it.” I smiled at the red head. She was such a blessing to the fort. “How much do I owe you?” It wasn’t often I could pay Zoe for her time, but I could afford it today. 

She got a constipated look on her face, as she always did when I asked the cost of the repairs. “You don’t need to pay me. I’d rather fix your suit and be left unpaid than to demand a payment and have you go out beyond the walls with a busted suit.” 

“I don’t take charity Zoe. You know that.” This was a familiar conversation between us. She had such a bleeding heart. Her generous nature was the only reason Zoe wasn’t a very wealthy engineer. 

“Fine if you insist. I’m running low on ember and chimeric alloy. The strider with my supplies won’t be here for another week, but I need the materials now.” 

“Sounds great boss.” I flashed her a grin knowing full well she hated when I called her boss. 

“I’m not your boss.” She called after me as I walked to my javelin. 

I entered my suit with an ease that came with years of practice. I remember the first time I tried to get into the suit. I got both my legs stuck in one of the leg holes. When I tried to pull my legs out of the hole, I lost my grip on the shoulders of the suit. I nearly broke my spine in half when my torso fell towards the ground but my legs stayed in the suit. It took months before the teasing ended. 

The moment the gateway opened in my suit, I went about turning on the rest of the systems. Putting on my javelin felt like encasing myself in a second skin. This ranger had been designed and built to my specifications. No one else could comfortably pilot this suit. The faceplate covered my face and the viewing screen booted up. There was a hiss and I felt the pull of the lock disengaging from my suit’s feet. 

“Hey Lancer, your cypher knows you’re going out right?” Zoe asked before I could engage my thrusters and fly out of the fort. I looked down at the suddenly very small woman in front of me. 

“Yes, of course.” The lie flowed easily from my lips. I didn’t want to have Faye in my ear today. I didn’t need a cypher just to go hunting for minerals. “See you in a few hours.” I shot off without another word. 

I landed on the other side of the fort wall a few moments later. I flexed my hands and rolled my shoulders to ensure everything was running correctly. I tapped on my thigh, my gun popping out of the armor before replacing it. I did the same for my sniper rifle. Everything was running smoothly. I pulled the map on my view screen. Now where exactly did I see that large deposit of ember? 

I believe there was a cave nearby that had quite a bit of the stuff. I turned off the map and started flying towards the cave. Without Faye, I was going to have to navigate the old-fashioned way. The Bastion was as humid as it was yesterday. I had to keep an eye on my thrusters’ heat output. Last thing I needed was to overheat my suit. 

I easily flew around rock outcroppings and giant trees. A quick dip into a lake kept me flying and off the ground. I loved flying for long periods of time. There was something inherently freeing about flying around the otherwise untraversable terrain.

_“I’m quite jealous of you,” Owen spoke quietly beside me. I looked away from my suit to frown at him._

_“Jealous of almost being fried by a Wyvern?” One of the flying assholes had managed to fry the shocks in one of my legs, making it nearly impossible to move. I needed to get it fixed before it was my shift to guard the strider. Owen clucked his tongue at me._

_“No, I’m jealous that you get to be out there.” He gestured vaguely towards the hull of the strider. “You fly around out there, free as can be. Exploring the world.”_

_“What are you talking about Owen? You’re right there with me.” I nudged his elbow with a smile._

_“I’m not though, not really. I’m here in the strider, or back in an amplifier with other cyphers.” He stated bitterly. “I want to be out there.”_

_“Who says you can’t be?” I asked scowling at the burnt shin plate blocking my access to the shock._

_“Uh, everyone, literally everyone.”_

_“Well the way I see it, no one can stop you from taking pilot classes.” I grunted as I managed to turn the screw to remove the shin plate. I grinned savagely as the shin plate came loose._

_“You’re right…I can become a pilot.” I looked over at Owen with a small frown._

_“Well that’s not exactly what I-”_

_“I need to get the necessary books and look up how much lessons costs.” Owen jumped up from his seat beside me. My heart stuttered at the near blinding grin he flashed me. “I’m going to be a pilot.” He practically skipped over to the stairs that led to the amplifiers in the strider._

_“Owen, don’t get ahead of yourself!” I called after him. Cyphers never made good pilots. They couldn’t concentrate on their suit enough to be able to properly pilot it._

My chest tightened immeasurably at the memory. Had I honestly been the one to put it into Owen’s head that he could be a pilot? Was this all somehow my fault? I felt my breath hitch in panic. My thrusters sputtered to a stop as my suit momentarily locked up. “Fuck!” I forced a deep breath through my nose and out my mouth, shoving the rising panic away. I’d die out here if I let my emotions get the best of me. 

I reconnected with my suit not a moment later. I sighed in relief, but cut upwards sharply. I started to steadily climb higher and higher into the sky. I continued flying up until I heard the unmistakable whistle of my thrusters beginning to overheat. I let out a long breath and turned off my thrusters. 

I lied to Prospero when I told him I was afraid of heights. I loved flying. I loved soaring above the tree tops. I loved being able to look a Titan in the eye before blasting it with a pulse burst. I loved freefalling the most. I loved the sound of the air rushing past as I fell. It never failed to calm my nerves. The world was so peaceful when I fell.

_Ten Years Ago_

“So, you want to make this guy pay, how are we going to do that?” Owen asked as we cautiously watched the Regulator from around a building corner. 

“I’m still figuring that out. We have to do something that makes it so we’re not easily caught.” I may be passing through Ponteix, but Owen probably lived here. I couldn’t make life miserable for him just because an asshole stole my sandwich. 

“Sounds like a solid plan.” His words practically dripped with sarcasm. 

“I’m pretty sure it’s the best I’ve ever come up with.” I retorted flashing him a grin from over my shoulder. A smile pulled at his lips before dropping off. 

“He’s stopping.” I turned back towards the street to see that the asshole was indeed stopping. 

He knocked on the door to one of the buildings. We were in the lower end of residential housing. Someone opened the door a moment later, letting the man inside. This may be a Regulator hideout within the town. “I’m going to get a closer look.” 

“Remember the plan.” His voice called after me. I rolled my eyes before cautiously walking across the street. While foot traffic was nearly non-existent in this area, I didn’t want to risk getting caught by a Sentinel. I didn’t think that this place was the man’s house. It’d be pretty odd to knock on the door of his home. 

I crouched low underneath one of the windows before slowly peaking my eyes over the sill. There were drapes covering most of the inside of the house from view, but I had a sliver of visibility into it. There were a multitude of crates stacked up in various areas of the room, but no furniture. The asshole was standing in front of two other men. One man was tall while the other was short. All of them wore Regulator uniforms. A small bag was handed over to Mr. Asshole. He shook the hands of the shorter man. They both bowed their hands at Mr. Asshole. He turned to leave. 

I immediately booked it back to Owen across the street. I didn’t want the man to catch me spying. “What did you see?” Owen asked curiously. 

“It’s definitely some kind of Regulator hide-out. These two dudes gave Mr. Asshole-”

“That his birth name?” Owen interjected with a snort. 

“Yes, anyway they gave him a bag of something. He should be exiting the house right now.” Like clockwork the man exited the house. He glanced around himself before turning and continuing on his way. 

“Could be where they keep their smuggled goods.” Owen suggested as we continued to follow the man.

“It definitely looked like it.” 

We followed the man for about fifteen minutes more before he stopped again. We had left the poor section of the city and into the richer area. The houses were larger and well-kept. He used a key to enter the two-story building. The white paint was new while the gate leading to the actual front door shone bright gold in the setting sun. This was definitely his private home. 

“Let’s get a closer look.” I trailed behind Owen, looking for any signs of the Sentinels. They’d definitely patrol more often in this area. They had to keep the rich feeling happy and safe. We walked around to the side of the building, Owen staring intently at the ground.

“What are you looking for?” I whispered quietly. There was no way to know how thick the walls of the house were. 

“It should be some kind of dimple in the wall…aha!” Owen crouched down in front of the wall, his hands grasping a small dome shape attached to the building. It came off with a soft pop. Underneath it was a metal cap of some sort. “Buildings like this almost always have a personal water tank.” He explained attempting to turn the cap. “Once a week the water is replenished, allowing the people in the home to enjoy fresh clean water. Ugh!” He grunted, having absolutely no luck with the cap. 

“Let me try.” I pushed him a bit out of the way, “what does the rich bastard having a personal water tank have to do with anything?” I gripped the cap and strained to turn it. It refused to budge even a millimeter.

“I have an idea, but it means nothing if we can’t get the cap off.” I huffed as I let go of the cap. I glared at the offending piece metal with annoyance. 

“We’re going to need a wrench to get it off.” I pointed out, wiping my hands on my pant legs. “I can probably swipe one from one of the toolboxes on the strider, but what’s your idea?” 

We both heard the unmistakable sound of hydraulics approaching from the street. It was a sentinel. Owen and I glanced at one another before backing up further into the small alley between the buildings. We pushed ourselves tightly against the side of the building as the sentinel passed, hoping they didn’t look down the alley way. When the sentinel passed, we emerged from the alley way and moved to a safer place to talk. 

“That was close.” Owen smiled in relief as we watched the Sentinel disappear around the bend in the road. 

“So, what’s this plan of yours?” His smile turned down right devious at my question. 

“That cap was the opening to the water tank for the building. If we can get it open, we can sabotage his water supply.” My eyebrows rose at the suggestion, just what could we do to his water supply that didn’t involve poisoning the asshat? “Like say, some Blue Jazz powder.” 

“That stuff sticks to everything! I saw one Sentinel covered in the stuff after the suit crashed into it.” I found myself grinning along with him. “That’s genius!”

“I would certainly say so.” Owen preened a bit dramatically. 

“I can get the wrench from the strider and do you have the powder?” 

His smile fell a bit, “No, but we can go back to the marketplace and I can steal us a pouch.” 

“Need me to distract the clerk?” 

The smile was back in full force. The grin lit up his face, transforming it from malnourished youth to cute teenage boy. “You read my mind.” I mentally shook away the sudden warmth in my chest, I had more important things to focus on then thinking Owen was cute. 

“Well then, let’s get to it.” 

It was laughably easy to distract the woman who ran the dye stall. The moment I complimented her on the color variations on her scarf she went into a long-winded monologue about how hard it was to isolate the dyes in such a manner that they didn’t leak into the other colors in the fabric. Owen swiped a pouch of the blue powder easily enough. It took a bit more smiling and talking to get the woman to stop talking to me. The only reason she had let me leave was because I promised I’d bring by my merchant father to talk to her about expanding her customer base from just Ponteix and into Heliost. It was an outright lie, but whatever got me away from her. 

“Should I test you on the solution that makes the best red dye?” Owen asked cheekily when we met back up near where the striders docked. 

“Oh, shut it.” I griped with a roll of my eyes. 

“Off to your strider then?” He tilted his head in the direction of the striders. The crowds were beginning to thin a bit as the sun started to set. 

“Yes, we should-Oh crap…” I groaned rubbing at my eyes. Owen asked what was wrong. “It’s just…they’ll never let me near the toolboxes.” I’d already gotten snapped at by Adair when she caught me perusing her bag. “I can’t steal one while everyone is awake.” 

“I can come aboard and steal it. We’ve already proven we can do it.” I gnawed on my lip worriedly. 

“No, Ruby and I are guests on the strider. I don’t want to get us kicked off.” I scowled down at the ground. There had to be a way to get the wrench. Mr. Asshole deserved to be turned blue. “How about I wait until everyone falls asleep before taking the wrench? We’ll meet up by Mr. Asshole’s home right around midnight?” 

“This isn’t some elaborate plan to get back at me for stealing your money is it?” All traces of excitement were gone from Owen’s face, replaced by a look of worry. 

“What? No, it was my idea to follow the guy in the first place.” I cocked my head to the side. “I thought you were just testing my reflexes, not trying to steal my money?”

“Isn’t that what I just said? Test your reflexes and all that?” I shook my head with a smirk. “Oh, funny must be hearing things.” He shrugged with a growing smile of his own. “Operation take down asshole-”

“Mr. Asshole, he has gray hair.” Owen nodded in approval at my interruption. 

“Operation take down Mr. Asshole commences at dawn.” We giggled childishly before parting ways.

**Author's Note:**

> I'm still getting a feel for Owen's characterization, so excuse me if he sounds off. Also let me know what you think. Have a good day!


End file.
